John Kerry yesterday rapped his own campaign manager for saying that Vice President Cheney’s gay daughter is “fair game” for politics.

Kerry was struggling to get past the negative fallout from his own decision to note that Mary Cheney “is a lesbian” during his final debate with President Bush when he made his surprise slap at campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill.

“No, I don’t like that characterization. I did not know she said that . . . I would ask her not to characterize it such,” Kerry told the editorial board of Iowa’s Des Moines Register newspaper.

But when asked if he regretted his own remarks, Kerry replied, “No, I don’t.”

Kerry’s campaign didn’t respond to questions about whether Cahill intends to apologize for her remarks given her own boss’ statement that she shouldn’t have said it.

Republicans say Cahill’s “fair game” crack shows that Kerry and running mate John Edwards were out to tell the world that Mary Cheney is gay, since Edwards also mentioned it in his debate with the vice president.

Mary Cheney, who is openly gay, plays a major behind-the-scenes role in her father’s campaign, but is a private person who doesn’t give interviews. Campaign aides say she won’t comment on Kerry’s highlighting her sexual orientation.

Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt said, “You don’t use your opponent’s child as a prop to score political points. It was calculated and despicable, and people got a glimpse into John Kerry’s character.”